Marketing – the dreaded M word. You’ve gone through so much, put your blood, sweat and tears into producing your masterpiece and….no one cares and no on buys it. Except family, good friends, and the sweet lady you chatted to on the bus.

Do not be discouraged. It isn’t your book. People just don’t know it’s there. You need a way to elevate it from the pack of other just released works. You need a way to put your title in front of the buying public at the exact moment that they are looking for something to read and have money to spend. And you are starting from zero. Time to stir the air and hope for a hurricane.

Did you know that a message needs to be in front of someone an average of 3 times in order to promote an action? That is why when you watch TV or listen to the radio or read a newspaper, you’ll hear or see the same advert over, and over, and over. But who can afford a mainstream media Ad? Well, you don’t need one. You have never had a better opportunity to self-promote, and reach a worldwide audience instead of just a local one.

But there are many channels out there in Internet land. Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, oh my! What to use, how to use…I don’t know about you but my eyes just crossed and a little drool dribbled out the side of my mouth. It seems complicated, and it can become so if you don’t do one simple things.

INTEGRATE YOUR MESSAGE across all online tools. Use the same colors and fonts, the same messaging, the same pictures BUT be sure to tailor your content to the strengths of the platform you are employing. The more people come to associate certain visuals with your book the more they will recall it.

Just as an example: Twitter is a microblog. What can you message in that space to stir people to action? Not much, but you can use it to promote free cool stuff on a website, or direct people to like you on Facebook, or go to your YouTube channel to view a video book trailer. You can use it to direct people to an online contest for a free book – and now you have an opportunity to market directly to them with email. But throughout this web of marketing, you must ensure a similar look and messaging so that people know they are in the right place.

This is an INTEGRATED marketing plan. Create a plan, stick to it, and allow it the TIME it needs to build. Because you, waving your hand in the air is never going to move enough air to create a wind. But if you get enough people out there waving their hands alongside yours, well then it is Hurricane time.

But remember – all of the above are social activities. I had it explained to me this way. How popular would you be at a party if all you did was walk in and try to sell a product to everyone, didn’t ask them who they were, how they were doing, ask about their kids or their new car – you know, socialize. You’d soon be standing alone in the corner getting drunk on vodka and pretending to listen to the music.

Remember how you made your first sales? Family and Friends, and the nice lady you chatted to at the bus stop? Guess what? That is exactly what you are going to continue to do. Socialize. Make friends. Chat to them. Listen to them. INTERACT. You will soon be the most popular person at the party and…OMG…You wrote a book? I’m going to buy it!

Good Luck with your efforts. Leave a comment, ask a question and if this was helpful, please share it with your friends!

After years of watching your work sit in a drawer, gathering dust bunnies, is it any wonder that many new and established authors are cutting out the big publishing companies and doing it themselves? Are you thinking of self publishing? Well answer, these two simple questions:

1) Do you believe in what you’ve created? If you are like many authors, you’ve sent out your query letters, tried to get an agent, and have a stack of rejection letters piled up on your desk. BUT you KNOW you have a great story and all you want is to get it out there!

2) Can you market what you’ve created? This is the business side. How much do you know about marketing, can you learn, and can you apply it to your product? Are you willing to put in the sweat equity to make it happen? Marketing your book to reach your audience is an ongoing process. Like a garden, it needs a little attention every day – pull the weeds, harvest what is ready, and make sure you water and get plenty of sunshine.

If you have answered yes to these two simple questions, then you are ready to self publish. There are a few platforms out there to help you get started. For The Exile, I originally published through Amazon’s CreateSpace and then added Kindle and Kobo into the mix.

It’s okay to just dip your toes in, you don’t have to drink the Kool-Aid just yet. Do some exploring, join some author forums and ask others who have gone through the process. The community is like the board of directors of your firm. Ask a question and you will get some great answers that you can apply to your endeavour.

Good Luck with your efforts. Leave a comment, ask a question and if this was helpful, please share it with your friends!

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@WeAreMarsBook I'm going to have to disagree. Best on screen villain in a sci-fi ever - Scorpius from Farscape. Anti-hero journey. Started innocent. Sacrifices ruthlessly to personal concept of greater good, no matter how great the loss. Evil never believes itself to be evil. pic.twitter.com/A9R5AX18Tz

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It is the Spring Solstice.
Today, Gralyre & his companions are entering the Labyrinth on Fennick's Island to reclaim the Dragon Sword of Lyre, foretold to herald the fall of Doaphin the Usurper.
The Lies of Lesser Gods. Have an adventure today!
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